Tuesday, 9 October 2018

A 38-YEAR-OLD man from Bellevue suburb in Bulawayo has been arrested after he allegedly raped his step daughter multiple times.The man repeatedly raped the 14-year-old girl since October last year. Sometime in October last year, the two were left alone at home. The man ordered the minor to prepare tea while he took a bath.“After he finished bathing he said I should bring the tea in his bedroom,” said the minor.

“As I got into the room, he pulled out an okapi knife and ordered me not to make a sound. He covered my mouth with a cloth and locked the door before undressing me,” she said.“He raped me and threatened to kill me if I ever told anyone about the ordeal.”On that day, the court heard, the minor told her aunt what had happened and she told her not to tell her mother or anyone else.A few days later, the minor visited her mother in South Africa but did not say anything about the rape.

Sometime in August this year after she had returned, she was left with her stepfather while everyone else was at work.“I was in the kitchen washing the plates, when my father approached me holding an okapi,” said the minor. “He ordered me not to make any noise and follow him into his bedroom,” she said.“He pushed me onto the bed and locked the door before having sex with me once,” she added.“After that, he unlocked the door and told me to leave his room,” she said.The minor told her aunt who resides in Nkulumane about the rape and she told her she would tell her mother before reporting the case.After the aunt had spoken to the minor’s mother, she went on to file a report at the Nkulumane Police Station, leading to the arrest of the man. Chronicle